Gas mask



M. C.' TEAGUE GAS MASK ined Jan.l 2,2,l 1942 May l, 1945.

` 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY `Maly 1, 1945.

M. C. TEAGUE 'v GAS MASK Filed Jan. 22, `19472 2 Sheets-Sheen fr 1 I l l l It A TToHNEY rcitation 1945" appucauon January 22, 1942, serial No. 427,74@

gas mask for civilian or military purposes.

prises a facepiece of sheet rubber or fabric in which the various portions are seemed together;

' face piece. vIn the past, su'cha mask hasof operations,

l ing and a metal ring toV an eye piece, for example, of glass or other transparent material secured by cementing and/or tapthe face piece; air intake A means provided with a connection either directly or indirectly to a iiltering device, known as a canister; exhaiing-or exhaust ineens, usually a valve; a web harness for ilttingthe face piece to the head, usually provided with buckle adjustments for varying the nt to suit the wearer; and attaching means jior securing the harness to the series attached;

necessity been composed of a large number of parts which are, with only a relative degree of permanence, secured together by a great number of seeming, adhering, sewing, inserting, and other operations. These operations increasethe labor and materialccst oithe articles andresult in undesirable properties in the nnished mask. Furthermore, adjustment of the previous masks has required a series of relatively complicated straps in order to achieve the desired iit.

The mask, according to the present invention,

provides asimple. composite, unitary rubber facev piece; integral means for resilientlyretaining accessories, for example, an eye piece, land permitting ready and drm insertion; a tight socket for securing the intake canister, either directly or Y and without the usual additional sealu readily removable, eimer partially or in its en tions.

tirety, fromnintegral reinforced securing means comprising parts of the face piece; Thepresent mask is preferably made by dipping a pre-shaped dipping form into a latex bath and coaguiatng the latex with subsequent drying and volo operations. There is thus attained a unitary mask devoid. oi'any seams and ready for immediate use by merely -lnserting .the proper accessories in place: such as eye piece, canister or hose, valve, and harness, without the former necessity .oi a complicated Vseries of sewing, 'adhering. molding, reinforcing and'sealing opera- I The mask also edge portions permitted to be subjected to excessive distortion which is applied both in fitting the mask tothe has, preferablmthickened for example, loosening 'the tightening --mesh in relaxed position;

s, claims. (cries- 141i into the usual compact case. The maskfurther ticularly to a composite rubber resists'damage, as by tearing, by reason of the f grainless character of the latex-deposited rubber. The usual previous gas mask generally comdescriptionoi theinvention together witirrefer-A f ence to the vappended drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is a side view of a mask with fragmentary portions brokezi away to reveal the cross Vsectional structure, showing the face piece. with acces- Fig. 2 is an end view of the mask shownk in i Fig. l, showing only some of the buttons and with the lower portion omitted, since the lower portion will be identical to that of Fig. l when the canister is cylindrical; l

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the section line 3 3 oi Fig. l, showing de tails of one embodiment oi means forretaining the eye piece in position;

Fig; 4 is a fragmentary cross section similar to the right end oi Fig. I'Eshowing an alternative structure for retaining the eye piece in position; Fig.'5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, showing a further alternative glass-ntting structure;

Fig. d is a cross section of a reiniorcingbutton, taken along the section line t-d of Fig. l; 'Fig'. 'i' taken along the sectionline rl-i of Eig. '1, illustratingthe curved and seamlesscharacter of the arrangement of the harness on a reduced scale; Fig.- 9. is a reduced perspectiveviewof the mask g with hai-nem, glass, valve and canister attached, illustrating -the integral characteristics of the l various means for holding the accessories;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken lancil tudinally'along theend portion oi the central Vmay bev incorporated with afacepiece conface and in packing the mask 55 Ystrilcted of any usual sas 'maskA material,- suchf I strapv `of. vthe harness, showing a comlhinationi temple' adjustment place;

Fig. ll is la-face view a modication;

Fig. l2 is a cross-sectional( l0.showing 'the temple adjustment means` in. operation with a distorting member in position.

and harness, buttoned in Referring now to Fig. 1,- the face piece LisV lformed preferably of grainless latex rubber,

althoughjcertain features of theA combination `is a random fragmenten/cross section simuarto sig. 1o, showing view similarto 'i as molded sheet rubber, treated fabrics, combinations of the same, or the like. The face piece is provided with .a top opening 2 which preferably,although not necessarily, is thickened as the socket .6 and glass 1 may assume othel" vdesired peripheral shapes. It is usual to provide a valve 3, either integrally `with the mask,- or,

, as shown in the drawings, held in position by valve socket 9. The valve 8 may be of the utter valve type and may be provided with an aperture Ill which closes upon reduction of pressure within the mask and opens during exhalation. Buttons II, preferably integrally formed on the mask, engage the lend portions of the straps I2 of a harness I3 as will be further described below. The straps ofthe harness are preferably formed of strips of sheet rubber having an easy stretch to facilitate placement and removal of the mask, and ior Vcomfort during wear. Series of buttons Il and l5 are provided in the vicinity of the temple portions of the face piece I to engage a center strap I6 of the harness I3 in alignment transverseA of the edge.

' As will be noted in Fig. 2, the eyepiece or glass socket B is provided with an integral neck portion I1 which imparts a yielding support for the glass to permit the glass to be moved or twisted relative to its opening. This yieldable relationship minimizes the danger of breakage of the eye-piece and enables the eye portions to better withstand blows, shocks, etc. Fig. 3 shows the structural'details of the eye piece socket 6.. An annular projection I8, whichis an integral part of the mask, extends beyond the neck portion I1`to formY a` receptacle portion I9 and terminates in a ange 20., In relaxed position the socket 6 and particularly an annular groove 2I thereof formed between the portions -I 9 and 2B, are of appreciably smaller diameter than the relatively rigid glass 1. In order to insert the glass, it is merely necessary to stretch the socket 6 and fit the glass into the annular groove 2I, whereupon an air-tight'seal is effected by virtue of the centripetal tension applied by the resilient socket in the direction ofV the center of the glass. The sealing effect of the socket proper may, if desired, be augmented by stretching a cylindrical rubber band 22 of vrelai;i\'ely small diameter over the outer surface Y of the socket 6 whereupon it assumes the seal-v ing position shown in Fig. 3. Since the rubber band 22 is under tension, all of its portions tend to' seek their relaxedposition which is of smaller diameter than illustrated in Fig. 3, thereby dis-` torting the band into the shape' shown, in which shape it acts as a tight seal, both to augment the centripetal pressure applied bythe socket 6 and to press tightly at the outer edge 23 againstk the outer surface of the glass to provide an additional seal.

As shown in Fig. 4, an alternative socket 24 is provided with an outer ange 25 thickened on the exterior at 26 to increase the pressure of the edge portion 21 against the outer surface of the glass 1. The thicker portion 21 resists stretching to a greater degree than the thinner portions. A stillfurther alternative is shown in Fig. 5, in .which an eye piece socket 28 has an interiorly thickened portion 29 on the outer flange 30 to provide another type of seal for the glass 1. The cross sectional view shown in Fig. 5 illustrates the position of the ange 30 immediately prior toseeking its tightest point, and

when it is relaxed in operative position the rubber will flow to -the position shown by the dotted line 3i and the'interior surface 32 oi the flange j 30 will lie flat against the marginal outeredge of the glass 1.

Referring again to Fig. 1, the canister socket 4 may be employed to hold a canister directly as shown in the drawings, or may hold a iiange of a hose leading to a canister. The canister 5 is provided with a Bange 3.4 which ts into an annular' recess or groove 35 extending around the interior ofthe socket 4. In normal relaxed position, the socket 4,- is of smaller internal diameter than the overalidiameter of the canister and ange. In operative position, the socket 4, being stretched, consequently exerts a pressure against the canister to hold it in position. The socket 4 may be in many respects similar to the socket 6, for example in the depressed neck portion 3G, and in the thickened portion 31 on the edge,

which provides a tighter seal against the canister. It is to be understood that the-various sockets are produced Yby a latex dipping form Awhich has external projections corresponding to the interior conguration of the sockets.- The open portions of the sockets may-be cut from the form after dipping into latex by any known trimming operation.

The buttons Il, I4 and I5 are likewise integrally formed during the dipping operation, for example, in the manner as described in a co-pending kapplication of Teague and Sterrett Serial No. 427,739, filed January 22, 1942, of which I am one of the inventors. In order to increase the stiiness of the button and to facilitate fastening thereof to the straps of the harness, an insert 40 comprising, for example, a metallic button, is incorporated in the center of the button II, as shown in Fig. .6. The reducedneck portion 4I i of the button `receives and retains small apertures or buttonholesf42 provided near the ends of the straps I2.and'l6, as shown in Fig.l0. The width of the neck 4I is obviously considerably larger than. the diameter of the apertures 42, so that when the buttonhole is stretched over the head of the buttomthe resilient material of the strap consequently presses against the neck to hold the strap in position. The buttonholes may be thickened or votherwise reinforced around the edge, if desired. The reinforcing button 40 has a base 43 corresponding to the thickened rubber portion 44, a neck portion 45 corresponding to the outer neck 4I, and a head portion 46 corresponding to the head of the button. A minute hole 41 extends through the interior of the face piece l tothe base of the headportion 45, but may be filled or omitted, as desired.` IIt'he reinforcing button further serves to prevent excessive distortion or damage to the button II.

The forward and rear portions, 50 and 5I, re-

spectivew, are curved in their relaxed position in order to-.provide a better t for the mask. The curved portion 50 corresponds to the nose portion of the mask. When the mask is adjusted on the face of the wearer, the edge 3 forms a tight t around the entire periphery of the average. head.

' button lil.

asuma? Auxiliary temple-ntting means are described below.

The general arrangement of the harness,'as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, is such that a plurality of head-encircling straps l2 and I6 are connected at the center by a button 55 and at the ends to the buttons ll, ld and l5 along the edge of the face piece I and bordering the opening 2. While three straps are shown in the drawings, it is obvious that a greater or smaller number of straps may be employed, depending upon the use to which the mask is to be put, although it has been found to be desirable to have the central strap le extending directly across the top of the head from the vicinity of the temple on one side to the other. The straps l2 extend diagonally in opposite directions cross-wise over the top of the head and are secured relative to each other and to the strap i6 by the connecting button 55. Each of these straps has one or more centrally located buttonholes 5l on either side of thek central buttonhole to provide for adjusting the center of the harness to nt the needs of the wearer. A plurality of buttonholes 5t is provided near one end of the straps I2 for adjustment of the ends of the straps relative to the rear buttons il.

The strap i6 is provided with a single central aperture 56 which engages the connecting button 55, and with at least two, but preferably four apertures or buttonholes 'l2 at each end. The buttonholes 32, together with the buttons lil and i5 provide a receptacle as shown particularly in Fig. l2, for inserting a wad of material i5@ or any object which will depress the interior wall portion @l of the face piece. This projection is desirable in case of a wearer having depressions in the vicinity of the temple, in order to insure that the entire outer edge 3 of the mask closely hugs the face. The buttonholes d2 are arranged in pairs so that the distance between the various pairs will be the same as that between the buttons lli and i5. In order to tighten the strap lt, the upper set of buttonholes d2 may be employed. It will be noted that the buttons iii and l5 are generally disposed to receive the extension 52 of the strap it and are generally aligned with the strap in its normal position as shown in Fig. 9. As seen in Fig. 10, the strap extension G2 has no particular effect when it is not necessary to use it, lies parallel to the face piece and does not distort the temple portion of the mask..

As shown in Fig. 11, a strap 65 corresponding to the central strap i5 oi the harness may be secured to the button' it, and a separate extension $8, in the form o a short strip, corresponding to the extension 52, is attached to both buttons le and l5 to provide a receptacle lolr the temple adjustment. The strip 68 may remain secured to the buttons ldand l5 during adjustment of the strap 65, which may be tightened by moving a button hole While l'. have shown and described certain El down over the ber material having a plurality of openings, at

least one of said openings being integrally reenforced by a thickened portion of the material around the periphery thereof, and a plurality of re-enforced integral buttons formed on opposite sides oi the mask near an opening.

' 2. A composite rubber gas mask comprising a continuous seamless face piece of resilient rubber material having a plurality of accessory-retaining openings, at least one of said openings being integrally re-enforced by a thickened portion of the material around the periphery thereof, a plurality of re-enforced integral buttons formed on opposite sides of the mask, and a harness comprising resilient straps with button-receiving apertures near the ends thereof, said apertures being removably engageable with said buttons.

3. A composite rubber gas mask comprising a continuous seamless face piece of resilient rubber material having a plurality of openings, each ci said openings being integrally re-enforced by a thickened portion oi the material around the periphery thereof, a plurality of re-enorced integral buttons formed on opposite'sides of the mask near an opening, and a harness comprising resilient straps .with button-receiving apertures near the ends thereof, said apertures being removably engageable with said buttons, at least two oi sm'd buttons being substantially aligned on each side of the face piece with one oi said harness straps.

4. A composite rubber gas mask comprising a continuous seamless face piece of resilient rubber material having a plurality of openings, and

a plurality of ire-enforced integral buttons formed on opposite sides of the mask near the edge thereof, at least two o said buttomv being in alignment transverse of the edge, a, harness comprising resilient straps with button-receiving apertures near the ends thereof, one of said harness straps having an extension at each end engaging both of said aligned buttons, thereby providing a receptacle for temple-ntting means.

5. A composite rubber gas mask comprising a continuous seamless face piece of-resilient rubber material having a plurality of openings therein, at least one of said openings being integrally re-enforced by thickening of the material around the periphery thereof, and a plurality of re-enforced integral buttons formed on opposite sides of the mask near the face opening, each of sail buttons having a stiiening element substantially surrounded by rubber.

. mWYN C. 'IEAGUE- 

